


Outside Looking In

by crystalsnowflakes



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII (Video Game 1997), Final Fantasy VII Remake (Video Game 2020), On The Way To A Smile: Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Childhood Friends, F/M, Friendship, Humor, Jealousy, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-06
Updated: 2020-11-06
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:26:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,538
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27417973
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crystalsnowflakes/pseuds/crystalsnowflakes
Summary: He was secretly glad he had dodged that particular bullet—he never would have had the endurance to keep up with the bundle of energy that was Yuffie Kisaragi.
Relationships: One-sided Yuffie Kisaragi/Yuri, Yuffie Kisaragi/Reno
Comments: 14
Kudos: 11





	Outside Looking In

Yuri remembered the first time he met Yuffie after years of not talking to each other. Fearful that Yuffie was the one who had brought back the Midgar disease—Geostigma—Lord Godo had trapped his own daughter inside the training hall turned hospital. At the time, Yuri knew deep down that he had been the one to bring it back, having been to Midgar himself. Ashamed and remorseful, he had broken Yuffie out of her confinement—he still recalled the way her small calloused hands fit into his perfectly as they ran away from the angry villagers and at the time, he hadn’t thought much of it. 

But over the months, he couldn’t stop thinking about the way she had gone back into that cave to save him from a certain death, nor could he forget the way she had dragged his barely conscious body all the way back to the town. Despite the fact that Yuffie seemed like an inconsiderate and brash princess, he could recall the way she had been outraged that the diseased had been forced to quarantine in a hut and the way that she had selflessly looked after the patients—looked after his mother. He remembered the way she had continued to hunt for materia to cure them—him—of the disease despite the fact that he had known it was a lost cause.

Even so, Yuffie had never given up—had refused to give up. She was stubborn that way.

And then the healing rain fell, droplets upon droplets taking away the disease that had plagued their lands for two whole years. It had been too late for his mother, but not for countless others and he _knew,_ even without anyone telling him, that Yuffie had had a hand in it.

He just didn’t know what she had found or what she had done, but he was sure that once she returned, she would recount and embellish whatever happened with her usual exaggerations.

Except she had never returned from Midgar.

It wasn’t until a month later that Yuffie finally texted him to let him know that she had taken up a job with the WRO as the Head of Espionage and Intelligence. At first, he thought he was simply missing a friend—after all, Yuffie had been a constant presence in his life for the last two years. She had been the one to care for him, to constantly look for a cure, to make him laugh and keep him hopeful when things were bleak.

Except he soon realized that he didn’t _just_ miss their friendship. He missed their early morning walks whenever he managed to get out of bed, he missed the way she teased him ceaselessly and he missed the way she would laugh and her eyes would glow brightly.

It _still_ didn’t quite occur to him what was going on until she returned for a brief visit for her twenty-first. The entire village turned her birthday into a celebration and Yuri suspected Wutai just wanted a reason to feast and party after such a dark time.

And then he caught sight of her standing in front of the temple, looking like she wanted to be anywhere _but_ there and he realized the last time he saw her was over two years ago. Her face had thinned out, her features more mature but despite everything, he could still see the hint of mischief in her eyes. Her lips were painted bright red, the tiny yellow flowers tucked into her hairstyle made her look ethereal and the traditional garb flowing down her figure reminded him she was a _princess,_ even though she didn't quite act like one. His gaze couldn't help but focus on her creamy complexion and her slender neck.

His heart stuttered a few beats—she was breathtaking.

As she spotted him with her usual cheeky grin and gleaming eyes, she bounced up to him and grabbed his arm, yanking him away from the festivities. “Thank _gawd_ you’re here, Yuri! I thought for _sure_ I was going to die of boredom. If anyone else comes up to me to tell me it’s time to find a husband and have kids at _twenty-one,_ I swear I’m going to throttle them! I even promise it won’t be pretty.”

“Is it that bad?” he asked with a small smile even though he felt his heart pounding in his ribcage so hard he suddenly had a tough time breathing. If he was sure asking her hand in marriage wasn't going to land him in hot water with her right away, he would have done it right there and then—he suspected she had no idea how enthralling she looked at that very moment.

"Ugh! You have _no_ idea. I've only been back for two days and I've been pounced on by _so_ many suitors," she grumbled with a small snort. "Doesn't help that I'm the Great Ninja Yuffie and they just want to be married to a princess!"

He couldn't help but laugh. "I'm not sure that's why they're asking."

Stopping in her tracks and causing him to almost crash into her, she tilted her head as her brows furrowed in confusion. Her stare focused on him. "Whaddya mean?"

He shrugged awkwardly as his mind tried desperately to think of something that _wasn_ 't him telling her how absolutely beautiful she was instead. "I'm just saying it might not just be because you're a princess, that's all." Because that was one of the only reasons he _hadn't_ approached her as a suitor yet—that, and he didn't want to ruin whatever friendship they had.

Her cheeks took on a delicate pinkish hue as she understood the meaning of his words. Looking away to hide her blush, she tucked her hair behind her ear. "Whatevs."

He decided to change the topic. Laying his other hand against her hand that was still resting at the crook of his arm, he pulled her farther away from the crowd. "Tell me about your work with the WRO. You've been so hard to reach on the phone."

Her face brightened at the mention of work.

As they continued to make their way up the mountain towards the Da-Chao Statue, Yuffie continued to prattle on regarding work and Yuri was content to listen to the sound of her voice and the way she so enthusiastically talked about something she was clearly passionate about. She talked about missions and assignments and referred to the names ‘Vince’, ‘Teef’, ‘Cat-boy’ and ‘Turkey’ more than once although he had no idea who they could possibly be.

By the time they finally reached the bottom of the statue, Yuffie had quieted down, her eyes gazing thoughtfully at the village alight below them.

“I won’t be back for a while, I think,” she murmured.

His chest clenched at the thought of not seeing her for another two years, of only communicating through the occasional messages. It wasn’t as if he was completely constrained to Wutai—his mother was gone and nothing was truly holding him back from leaving his hometown.

“Do you think the WRO would have use for someone like me?” The question escaped his lips before he could bite the words back.

Her head whipped around towards him, her brown doe-eyes wide with surprise. “Really, Yuri? You wanna come all the way back to the Eastern Continent? What about Wutai?”

Yuri chuckled. “If the Princess of Wutai can go all the way there, I don’t see why I can’t. Plus, hearing all your stories about your missions and assignments, maybe you’ll need someone to keep an eye on you.”

Yuffie huffed proudly as she withdrew her hand from his arm to punch him jovially in the arm—he missed the warmth of her hand on his arm instantly. “I’m fricken awesome and don’t need you to keep an eye on me!” But she was smiling with her teeth showing and she looked so _joyful_ that Yuri felt that he had done something right by asking. “I’m sure if I ask Reeve, he can find a job for you. But you sure you wanna go all the way there?”

He wasn’t sure. But he did know that if he didn’t follow her, he would regret it—he didn’t want another two years to go by before he got the chance to see her again.

“Happy Birthday, Yuffie.”

She giggled. “Thanks Yuri.”

* * *

Working at the WRO was nothing like what he had imagined. It was a thankless job and most people looked at him with wariness as soon as he was decked out in his WRO uniform. His fighting skills felt inferior in the face of the type of danger he constantly was against and he was perpetually deployed at all corners of the world. It almost felt like he no longer had a home—it was in the quiet of the night that he truly felt alone, that he sometimes wished he was back in Wutai amongst his people.

But he had to admit that the work was satisfying and that on the tiring days he spent fighting monsters to make it a safer place, he felt like he was truly making a difference. It helped that the Commissioner was a _good,_ fair man who cared about his subordinates and who seemed like he truly wanted to do right by the world.

And while he had hoped to spend more time with Yuffie, it wasn’t meant to be—she was just as busy as he was and if she wasn’t on an assignment or mission on the other side of the world, then she was staying in a bar at Edge. But even so, he was content with the occasional glimpses of her.

Just like now.

As he walked through the lobby of the WRO building with his colleagues, he heard her shrill voice before he saw her. Turning his head around, he caught sight of her cheeky grin and laughing eyes and he couldn’t help his chest from tightening or his own lips from widening into a smile. Yuffie was talking to a beautiful woman with a blond bob cut dressed in an impeccable navy suit. The menacing-looking man next to them was leaning languidly against the wall with a lazy smirk and in a similar suit, although his jacket was significantly more wrinkled. Yuri couldn’t help but stare at the two bright red tattoos on his gaunt cheekbones—whatever remarks coming out of the man’s mouth was being steadily ignored by the two women.

“Yuffie!” He called out as he began walking away from his friends and towards Yuffie.

Yuffie’s grin widened as she spotted him and she waved him over. “Yuri! Meet the Turkeys. This is Elena." She pointed over to the blond before tilting her head over to the redhead with a small frown. "That one’s uh… Turkey.” Her eyes refocused themselves on Elena. “And this is Yuri, an old childhood friend.”

The dangerous looking man that she had dubbed ‘Turkey’ stood up a little straighter as his smirk transformed into a scowl. “Didn’t realize _your highness_ had any friends.”

Yuffie huffed a little, but her eyes were glinting with unrestrained mirth as she hip-checked him firmly, causing the redhead’s scowl to darken. “Jerk,” she retorted as she stuck her tongue out of her mouth. “I have plenty of friends”

Yuri could have _sworn_ he heard the words ‘you little shit’ escape the redhead’s lips in response, but there was no way someone could be so blatantly disrespectful to the future Empress of Wutai, right?

Elena gave him a small, welcoming smile before she turned her head towards Yuffie again. “You’ll be there tonight then?”

Yuffie fist-pumped the air enthusiastically. “Wouldn’t miss it for the world! Just came back from a two-week assignment and _gawd_ I miss Teef’s cocktails.” And then to his surprise, she turned towards him with a warm grin. “Are you off tonight? I haven’t brought you to meet the gang yet, have I?”

“Uh, not yet,” Yuri responded, the intense and impassive gaze coming from the redhead causing him slight discomfort. “I’m off tonight.”

“Sweet!” Yuffie bounced over to him and grabbed his arm to drag him away. “You’re coming to drink with me tonight!” Giving a backwards wave to the two suits, she practically forced him to walk farther away. “Now, Yuri. I haven’t seen you for _months_ and I’m _starving._ Let’s go to the cafeteria downstairs.”

He didn’t have the heart to tell her that he had just come back from lunch. Or that his shift started in fifteen minutes. He was just glad he finally had time to spend with her.

“Is that the turkey you keep venting about?” He asked her as he allowed her to drag him into the elevator.

“The same one,” Yuffie grumbled with an annoyed huff. But a light blush appeared on her face. “He’s such a pain in the ass.”

* * *

Tifa was an amazing bartender who would give anyone a listening ear and Yuri found himself returning to the bar frequently in the next few months, regardless of whether he was with Yuffie or not. He had brought a few of his coworkers to the bar and they, too, had become regular patrons of Seventh Heaven.

Over the months, he had noticed that Tifa had a steady group of customers—the navy suits were one of them. He had learned that they were the once feared group of Turks who worked for Shinra, who were now still working for Rufus Shinra. It made sense that they were often at the WRO and in close contact with Commissioner Tuesti, who had been a director at Shinra once upon a time. And while he didn’t know them by name, Yuffie talked about the Turks enough that he knew them as ‘Elena’ who was often called ‘Blondie’, ‘Turkey’, ‘Baldy’ and ‘Broody’.

It took Yuri awhile to realize that many of the other interesting characters who frequented the bar were actually part of the group who saved the world from the Meteor—the group that Yuffie had been and was still a part of. So far, he had met the quiet swordsman, the cursing pilot, the caped gunman and the kind-hearted barmaid herself. What was more remarkable to Yuri was that the Turks, who had been in direct opposition of the group at that time, seemed to have formed a cordial relationship with Yuffie’s group.

His quiet musings were interrupted abruptly as a hard punch landed on his shoulder before the barstool next to him became occupied.

“Heya! You’re here tonight too,” Yuffie hooted with laughter—her face was flushed and her breath smelled like she had a few too many drinks. "Has anyone told you that you have a really nice ponytail?" She was studying his hair with a thoughtful look on her face before she reached out and combed through his hair with her fingers.

Yuri blushed slightly at the unexpected compliment and the way she was touching his hair "No, but thanks." He hoped he would run into her tonight, after all… “Happy birthday,” he said with a smile.

Her eyes brightened and something about the way she looked so _happy_ made his breath catch and his heart skip a beat. “You remembered!”

“Hard not to. It’s a bit of a national celebration in Wutai,” he mumbled with a hint of amusement, a little embarrassed about the way she seemed so pleased that he had remembered.

She laughed. “Shit, I totally forgot.”

“What are your plans now that you’re twenty-two?” Yuri asked as he swirled his nearly empty beer bottle around on the counter, his gaze unable to tear itself from her. He couldn’t help but notice the way her skin glowed and the way her smile had caused him unbearable longingness the past year.

Her chortles only grew louder as she leaned precariously over towards him, her barstool almost tipping over. Her eyes were slightly glazed over with alcohol as she somehow managed to balance in her seat still. “You don’t know me all that well, do you Yuri?” Her cheeky grin was infectious and he found himself smiling at the sight of her goofiness. “I have my entire life plan written on one of those Etch-a-Sketch toy Marley has cause I can't stop changing my damn mind every two minutes!”

Yuri grabbed her by the shoulders gently and righted her back on her stool. And before he had the chance to lose his courage and change his mind, his hands grasped hers tightly. “Hey Yuffie, I’ve been wondering…”

“Huh?” she muttered, her eyes flickering over to his as her head tilted sideways in confusion at his sudden serious tone. “What is it?”

He hesitated for a brief moment.

_“Yo, brat!”_ A loud, obnoxious voice was heard across the entire bar and Yuffie’s figure sat up instantly and twisted around. “Bet you I can kick your ass at darts this time!” Yuri looked over his shoulder to see Turkey glancing at _them_ with his heated gaze and it took him a long moment to realize the ‘brat’ had been directed to Yuffie.

Just as Yuri was about to stand up to defend Yuffie because who would _dare_ call the Princess of Wutai a brat, she had pulled her hands from his and stumbled off the stool, arms waving in the air. “You realize I’m just gonna keep kicking your ass, right Turkey?”

The Turk snickered, his lips twisted into an ugly expression. “Winner buys the drinks!”

“You’re gonna be dirt poor by the end of the night, you stupid loser!” Yuffie responded before tripping across the establishment on her wobbly legs. 

Yuri was about ready to stand up to support her when he felt a warm hand on his arm—he watched as she continued to stagger towards the dart board before snatching the darts from the Turk’s fingers forcefully. He couldn’t stop himself from blinking in confusion.

“They’re always like that.” A voice he recognized as Tifa’s spoke and he turned his gaze towards her. She had a gentle smile on her face as she studied the two at the dart board before her wine-coloured eyes refocused themselves on him.

He couldn’t control his curiosity. It wasn’t the first time he had seen the two of the bickering—it was a common occurrence for him to find the two of them squabbling whenever he caught sight of Yuffie at the WRO building. “What’s with the two of them?”

“Reno and Yuffie?” Tifa asked, her eyes glinting with mirth before it seemed like she had pressed her lips together to stop herself from smiling too hard. But she shot him a mysterious quirk of the lips anyways. “It’s complicated between the two of them.”

“Complicated how?” He pressed, feeling suddenly uneasy. He recalled the way Reno had looked at him the first time they met after Yuffie had introduced them.

Before Tifa had a chance to respond, Yuffie’s barstool was suddenly preoccupied with a bald, navy-suited man—Yuffie called this one Baldy. Tifa retracted her hand from Yuri’s arm before passing a new bottle of beer towards the man, a small questioning lift of the eyebrow directed at Baldy and then Baldy cleared his throat uncomfortably while glancing at Yuri.

“Yes…?” Yuri asked skeptically.

Baldy breathed out slowly, looking like he would have preferred to be at any other place than in that particular stool. “What do you want with Lady Kisaragi?” He finally asked with a grimace.

To his utter surprise, Tifa burst into uncontrollable laughter and Yuri had to wonder if he had drunk too much and this was a _dream_ because nothing was making any sense and why was she giggling?

"Did _he_ put you up to this?" Tifa asked, her question no doubt directed towards Baldy because she had placed her hand into his palm and only then did Yuri realize that there was something _more_ going on between the barmaid and the bald man.

He cleared his throat again before muttering, "Maybe."

Tifa took away the newly opened bottle of beer and poured out a cup of whiskey for him instead. They shared a brief, knowing look together before Tifa removed her hand from his palm and she placed her elbows on the counter, leaning forward towards him. “You’re a good friend, Rude. But have you told him to tell her himself?”

Yuri’s eyes flickered over to Rude and noticed the small tilt of his lips—what a suitable name.

“Maybe tell him to tell her before it’s too late,” Tifa murmured with her eyes dancing.

A momentary sense of dread filled him as he realized the connotation of their conversation and not only that, he felt the tendrils of jealousy creeping and coursing through his veins, choking him. Yuri looked backwards over his shoulder at the couple throwing darts and he watched as they bickered, as usual. But if he looked clearly, and if he was honest with himself, he could see the way Yuffie’s eyes were filled with both annoyance and affection and while Reno’s scowl was twisted, his eyes softened every time his gaze landed on her.

“No way,” he heard himself mutter in disbelief.

Her hand covered her mouth and he watched as Tifa tried to hold back her laughter. “I imagine that’s what he said to himself when he realized.”

Rude chuckled. “Or hasn’t realized yet.”

“Hm…” Tifa hummed jovially, “You don’t think so? I think he knows. He keeps asking for dart matches each time someone of the opposite sex talks to her even though he gets his ass handed to him every time.”

“He hasn’t won a single one?” Rude asked as he took a sip of his whiskey.

“Not yet," she responded with a small laugh. "Yuffie will never let him win."

Yuri felt his chest tighten with emotions as he stared at Yuffie’s back while she threw the darts with confidence, her aim true. The fact that he hadn’t even _tried,_ hadn’t even gotten the chance to let her know that he had been feeling emotions for her more than a friend bothered him more than he cared to admit.

But looking at the way they were dancing around each other, did he even stand a chance?

* * *

They still ran into each other occasionally at the WRO building and met up for drinks every once in a while. And even though Yuri was still in love with Yuffie and the mere sight of her never failed to send his heart racing, he had resigned himself to the fact that he was not the one she was interested in. So it was a constant surprise to him that month after month, the two were still not together—he still saw them quarreling in the hallways frequently and on the days he saw them together, Yuri was smart enough to stay far away.

The sight of them together never failed to shoot a sharp pain through his chest.

He double-checked his weapons and armor and ensured that his compact knife that had saved him countless times was on his body, he heard _her._ Which honestly, had shocked him. In the one and a half year that he had worked for the WRO, he had somehow never been on any mission alongside Yuffie—except the familiar sound of Reno’s mocking drawl could be heard as well.

His gaze flickered up from watching his comrades to the doorway just as Yuffie bounced into the passenger bay of the airship, Reno trailing behind lazily before leaning against the doorway, arms crossed, his usual expression of boredom on his face.

“Listen up, peeps!” Yuffie stood at the front of the group, her eyes darting to his quickly with a smile before she continued her pep talk. “Touchdown’s in ten minutes. Cave’s kinda narrow, so we’ll go as one group to clear the monsters. Team A you’re in charge of watching the entrance. Turkey and I are leading Team B and C…”

Feeling someone staring at him, he turned his attention elsewhere, only to catch sight of Reno’s blazing green stare as his eyes bore intensely into him—Yuri felt like squirming and looking away, but he forced himself to meet his gaze instead. He clenched his jaw and felt his fingers tightening around his weapon because he couldn’t remember doing anything to merit such a fierce glare.

“Hey Yuri! You’re Team B, right?”

Yuri’s eyes snapped towards the familiar brown doe-eyes that were inches away from his face—he had no idea how she snuck up so close, so quickly. “Yeah.”

Yuffie seemed thoroughly oblivious to the staring contest that had been happening in front of her as she was giving her speech. Yuri’s eyes focused on Yuffie instead and watched the way her grin brightened up the room, the way such a tiny person had so much energy, the way she just kept talking until it felt like his ears were about to fall off....

“...that this is the first time we’ve been on a mission after all this time. Can you believe it? Gawd, maybe—”

“Uh,” Yuri cut her off her tangent awkwardly. “Sorry Yuffie. I gotta head to the washroom. We’ll talk after?”

“Yeah, yeah. Let’s go out for a drink after, ‘kay?” She nodded with a wave of her hands before sauntering back with the scowl she reserved just for that particular Turk. If she noticed his hesitancy to talk with her, she hadn’t made it obvious.

It wasn’t the first time he had seen her fight, but it was the first time he had seen her with her _own_ weapon—much larger than the traditional-sized shuriken he saw her fight with last time. Her weapon flashed through the darkened caves as she led the team and he was amazed how naturally she handled it, how deadly she was with it. It was easy to forget that such a small body could be so lethal. 

But that wasn’t even what impressed him the most.

Reno and Yuffie moved in perfectly destructive synchrony, seemingly able to read each other’s minds as they fought the once cave-dwelling wildlife-turned-monsters. When she stayed still to cast a spell, the small glowing orb nestled into her palm, he made sure never to stray too far away, striking down enemies as they sprang towards her. As he struck with his nightstick leaving his side partially open, she made sure to fling a few knives anytime a beast got too close.

The two of them ran through the battlefield fearlessly, teasing and bantering, laughing and snickering as the rest of them followed, killing whatever stray monsters were left behind.

Hours later, when the mission had been complete without a single casualty, Yuri stood at the deck, taking in the glorious sights as they were returning to the WRO headquarters. Despite the fact that he had been on an airship countless times since joining the WRO, he would never get used to the beautiful view.

“Urk.” The sound of her familiar voice caused him to glance sideways and he couldn’t help the small quirk of his lips from lifting up as he saw her green face. For someone who could make death-defying jumps and spin in the air, she got motion sickness easily.

“You okay?” He asked.

She nodded, puffing out her cheeks slightly, adorably. “Meds wore off. Took some after I got on again, but ya know, it takes a while to kick in and all…” she trailed off slightly, her wide eyes studying his curiously. “You good? Kinda looked like you were doing your overthinking-thing again, where you worry ‘bout practically everything...”

Yuri gave a small shrug but couldn’t stop the small smile from forming—she was right, he tended to worry more than he needed to. “Just being myself.”

Yuffie snickered as she punched him jovially in the shoulder. “Gawd, stop being afraid of what could go wrong and think about what _could_ go right. Jeez you remind me of Spikey and Vince.”

He couldn’t help but stare at her, the waning sunlight casting an orange glow on her normally raven strands, her eyes lighting up brightly as her pale skin radiated—she was beautiful. Her dark eyelashes curled up, causing her hazel eyes to look much bigger than they were and the grin on her face spoke of mischief and brashness.

It was suddenly hard to breathe because he was unexpectedly faced with emotions that he had long-buried and had never thought about confronting. Except she was in front of him now, and...

“I’m in love with you,” he confessed finally, months and months after he realized it himself. He watched in fascination as her eyes widened and her breath hitched barely noticeably as her mouth dropped open. Observing a familiar flash of red from the corner of his eyes, he turned his head slightly and watched the Turk leaning nonchalantly against a wall at the top of the bridge near the pilot platform, blatantly looking at them, before Yuri refocused his attention on her. “But I know you have your eyes on someone else,” he explained.

_“Huh?”_ Her eyes bulged out even wider, if that were even possible. “Whaddya mean?” she practically screeched, her face flushed. “Who?”

Yuri couldn’t help but wince at the high decibel of her voice before chuckling. “You _know_ who. I’m not blind,” he murmured. At her look of utter confusion, he sighed with slight frustration. “Reno.”

Immediately, Yuffie promptly fell over laughing while she hooted, shoulders shaking. Yuri shook his head as he gave a sigh while waiting for her giggling to subside. A couple of moments later, she stood back up, biting her bottom lip, the corners of her mouth still twitching upwards as she tried desperately to smother her laughter. Finally, she wiped away the tears from the corner of her eyes as she stared at him. 

Taking a few deep breaths, she managed a few words. “Can you imagine? _Gawd…_ The fights we would have...” She trailed off as she let out a small snicker. “You’re wrong anyways. I don’t have my eyes on that… Turkey!”

Yuri rolled his eyes in frustration. “I think you’re both in denial.”

Her face grew serious and she hesitated for a split second—it was enough for him to see the truth in her eyes before she flashed him her usual impish grin. “Don’t know whatcha talking about, Yuri. Didya hit your head down there in the caves or something?”

“I’ll prove you wrong.”

Her eyes flashed with challenge, her grin widening, but the tint on her cheeks didn’t lessen. “Bring it.”

His heart suddenly started pounding wildly in his ribs, his palms sweat and he felt his throat tighten. But upon seeing the taunting look on her face, he steeled his resolve—he didn’t even know _why_ he cared so much to prove her wrong. Nervously, he took a step forward as he brought his shaking hand up to her face, his fingers brushing against her cheeks before he cupped her face.

The look of confidence in her dark eyes wavered slightly as she stammered out his name.

He closed his eyes and let out a shaky breath before leaning in…

_“Yo, brat!”_

Yuri’s eyes snapped open as Yuffie’s blush darkened almost comically. He couldn’t stop the corners of his lips from lifting up triumphantly and then before he could change his mind, he brushed his lips against her forehead instead. 

“Told you so,” he said softly.

Her eyes flickered off to the distance, the unusual sorrow in her eyes so quick and fleeting that he had almost missed it. And then she looked back towards him with a small, resigned smile on her face. “It would be simpler if it was you.”

Yuri couldn’t stop the small chuckle from escaping his lips as he dropped his hand. “Life is rarely simple for you, Yuffie. See you around.”

Before he could question himself, he turned around and he let her go.

That didn’t mean he didn’t throw a winning smile towards Reno’s dark scowl because he did—he enjoyed the glowering look on the Turk’s face a little too much.

* * *

Life didn’t change much after that other than his promotion at the WRO. They still met each other for drinks at Tifa’s bar every few weeks and they still ran into each other occasionally and shared meals at the WRO headquarters. And he _still_ saw them bantering with each other in the hallways because if he thought that them getting together would have stopped that particular behaviour, he had been sorely mistaken.

Except the arguments were worse now than they had ever been and he couldn’t help but laugh, perhaps secretly glad that he had dodged that particular bullet. Yuri would never have the endurance to keep up with the bundle of energy that was Yuffie and he could never understand how Reno managed.

But _she_ was happy, and that was all that mattered.

“You fuckin’ _idiot.”_

“Yeah? Well, you’re turkey shit.”

“Would it kill ya to pay attention to your surroundings—”

“Well, if you did your _job,_ then—”

Leviathan help them all.

**Author's Note:**

> Was rereading "On the Way to a Smile" while I was on a weekend trip in a remote place off-grid...of course, my brain came up with a Reffie fic. How could it not?
> 
> As usual, all the comments/kudos/support are always appreciated. Thank you for reading <3


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